[Blog] Day 56/100: Leap years in scheme, Guile code, and The Guile Manual

Today I did the Exercism exercise for Leap Years in Scheme. It was essentially a port of the Python code I wrote, but in Scheme. If you want to see it LMK.

Today I got curious about how Guile works. Chris Webber was asking questions in the #guile channel about some networking implementation details in Guile. I was curious what he was asking and wondered if I could play along at home. Sadly I am pretty much out of my depth when it comes to C code, so I quickly bounced off of his issue. But it got me curious enough to wonder what goes on under the covers of Guile.

One thing I have found incredibly pleasant with Guile is the manual. Good manuals explain how to use the software. Great manuals encourage you to understand the software and the implementation details. What the Guile manual does is not only explain the REPL (the interface you get when you type guile) and the API (how you can incorporate Guile into your C programs), but it also explains how things are implemented underneath. It encourages a deeper understanding of what is going on at the C code level. And it doesn't just cover what is there but also what you could try and why that might not do what you'd expect. In brief it is like having an expert programmer guide you through design decisions as though you are being mentored. It makes this manual a pleasure to read, and is easily one of my favorite manuals to date.

Definitely check out The Guile manual; it'll help make you a better programmer.